Happy Trails

Digital Citizenship Module 4-What Tools Support Digital Citizenship?

2011-07-14T09:57:00.000-07:00

Discovery Exercises:
1. Go to the wiki’s Resources pages. Choose one of the tools listed, and learn about it; think “play.” You might want to choose a tool you’ve heard about, or by its stated function. Make notes as you explore the tool; think about these points:
What is the function of the tool? I selected Twitter. Twitter is a social networking site and a mini blogging site.
How easy is it to install and navigate? I had an account already. It was free. It's Web 2.0. It was easy to join, install, to find others to follow based on interests.
What are its technical features and requirements (e.g., plug-ins, RAM, file transfer, peripherals)?
How easy is it to learn the basics, and use it? It was very easy to learn how to use. I joined about 4 years ago when I was attending a CSLA conference. I tweeted twice. I mainly follow other librarians. My favorites so far, because I learn so much from them, are The Daring Librarian and Joyce Valenza. I didn't have a smart phone when I joined Twitter. Now I do and I've added a Twitter app on my phone. I've watched some of the Common Craft tutorials on how to use Twitter. I'm not quite sure what I have to share yet on Twitter but I plan to begin. I might start by forwarding tweets to my fellow librarians. I'm thinking of getting the librarians in my district who have smart phones to learn to Twitter so we can publicize what we are doing in our libraries. My question is "Should one have a twitter account for professional work and a separate one for private twitters?" I will investigate this some more and discuss this with the librarians in my district who are interested in using Twitter.
What are its essential and special digital literacy/communication features (e.g., image, sound, interactivity, information manipulation)?
I believe to use Twitter effectively you need to know communication features such as hashtags. You need to know how to use bitly to shorten your URLs if you want to share websites or articles.
How would you teach it – and its use? NOTE that at the end of that section there are several tutorials listed; you may want to look at those as you explore your chosen tool (Commoncraft is great! -- and would be a fun way to get students to create a tutorial). Eventhough I am sure students tweet a lot, our school district does not allow students to use social networks unless they use School Loop during school hours. The district does use Facebook and Twitter to get its message out to the public however. I have a Facebook page for my library and I would like to start having people follow our library on Twitter. The tutorials and articles I read about Twitter did say that one should tweet often to keep followers. I have to think this out. Do I have that much to tweet about in regards to the library. I post a weekly e-newsletter so I could tweet some of the information throughout the week. Possibilities!

2. As you work with the tool, think about how it might be used to foster digital citizenship. For instance, Audacity is a good tool for creating podcasts, which can be used to communicate about content or promote a social cause. I think Twitter would be very useful for fostering digital citizenship. You could send out links to articles, YouTube clips, websites, and podcasts that cover your social cause. You could rally people to write letters, send e-mails or attend a meeting in support of your cause. You could keep a group of people who support a social cause connected and informed through tweets. Perhaps you could get famous people interested in your cause and get their support as well.

3. Match the tool with content standards, including library standards. Brainstorm how you can incorporate the tool into a lesson or learning activity that facilitate or supports digital citizenship. Blog your ideas.
English Language Arts Standards 8th Grade
Analysis and Evaluation of Oral and Media Communications
1.8 Evaluate the credibility of a speaker (e.g., hidden agendas, slanted or biased material).
Library Standards 7th and 8th Grade
2.2 Assess comprehensiveness, currency, credibility, authority, and accuracy of resources:
a. Evaluate credibility, comprehensiveness and usefulness of print, nonprint, and digital information sources.
b. Analyze differences among various categories of informational materials (e.g., textbooks, newspapers, magazines, atlases, online resources) in terms of their structure and purpose.
c. Evaluate the authority of authors, Web site hosts, and/or sponsoring organizations of Web sites and print material.
d. Assess currency and timeliness as a part of Web site and other media evaluation.
e. Identify and assess evidence that supports ideas and concepts presented in audio and visual media.
I participated in a Google webinar on using the left-hand tool bar. After participating, I became aware of resources such as blogs and forums on the Internet as potential places to find information. It would be important for students to learn how to evaluate credibility and authority when using any site on the web for information. Using a social network would also lend itself well to lessons on cybersafety and netiquette for students.

Digital Citizenship Module 3-How Can Students Incorporate Technology to Contribute to the Digital World?

2011-07-13T19:34:00.000-07:00

Discovery Exercises:

1. Go to the wiki Resource page, and choose one website under the heading “Civic Engagement.” All of these sites are applicable to students or librarians (who can enlist the help of students). As you explore your website, ask yourself these questions:

What is the issue being addressed? I explored the Youth Outlook or YO! website. It is a Bay Area literary magazine for youth. The magazine covered all types of issues from gangs, GLBT dances, poetry, and AIDS walks in a variety of media forms. Articles were written by youth and video clips were filmed and reported by youth in the Bay Area. While many issues were covered in YO! I believe the main point of this website was to give youth a voice.

What is the goal of the web’s entity?YO!'s goal is the give youth ages 14-25 a place to express their outlook on the world. A place where their voices and visions can be heard.

How does the issue relate to citizenship in its broadest concept? In the pieces I read or viewed, students were communicating their views on events like the gang rape of a young girl in Richmond, bus shootings and other violent acts as well as reporting on individuals, groups and agencies that were promoting non-violence and acceptance. My grandparents lived in Richmond and my parents grew up and worked in Richmond. I am a product of the Richmond Unified School District. This area has really changed since that time. It has become more violent. I was impressed that YO! offers youth in the area an opportunity to express their opinions and report on issues in their corner of the world. What was impressive was the focus on activism and working to make a change through their voices.

How is technology leveraged to address the issue, to solve the problem? YO! uses the webpage, video, vlogs, and blogs as well as a print magazine to communicate their message to their followers. Youth participants interview people for their reports, they give their opinions via vlogs, they film community events and they write. YO! also features poetry and comics. The use of technology allows the students to get their message out to so many more people. When I was a student in high school journalism b.c. (before computers), we had to type our articles on typewriters, then literally cut the article and paste it with rubber cement to the layout page. Our circulation base was just our school site. Youth now can get their message and voice out all over the world with a webpage. I don't know that YO! is actually solving problems but they are bringing an awareness to other youth in the Bay Area. Youth participating in YO! are gaining skills to become our future journalists.

What role can students play in this civic action? How can they make a positive contribution? When students feel that they have a voice and that their contributions are meaningful, they will continue to take a stand on issues that bother them. They will make others notice their concerns or recognize the contributions of others, and this may bring about change. The youth involved with YO! are making positive contributributions by developing their voice, by improving their communication and reporting skills, by being active in their communities.

What knowledge and skills would students need to contribute to this effort?

How might the library or school get involved in this effort?

Students would need to understand how to use computers, editing equipment, and video cameras. They would need to know how to use Web 2.0 tools for blogging such as Word Press, Blogger, Edublogs or other blogging host sites. They would need to know how to upload video to Vimeo or YouTube. They may need coaching on how to conduct interviews and form strong interview questions, how to search for background information on their topics, where to find information on current events happening in their community such as a community calendar or a city council meeting agenda. They may need help understanding meeting protocol for community meetings such as Robert's Rules of Order. The school and the library could get involved by providing opportunities for students to learn how to use this technology as well as providing opportunities for students to get involved with citizenship activities. Running a television station, a literary e-magazine, a radio station are all ways the school could help students have opportunities to voice their opinions on community issues.

2. If that website and cause look promising (or you find another one in this list or from another source), think about ways that students can learn about this website and its issue. Brainstorm ways that students might get engaged: through the curriculum, via interest or service clubs, as a school-wide initiative, in partnership with a youth-serving organization.

I think it would be important for students who are beginning a school news show or radio broadcast or literary magazine to explore what other students are doing. They would get ideas as to what they would want to include in their media presentations. It may be possible for them to use other forms of technology to communicate with other students from other communities to learn about the challenges that the group has faced in bringing their message to their community as well as learn about the other group's accomplishments. The students could share what other groups in their community have offered support. Students would learn to network with other individuals and groups.

3. Think about possible entities that might partner with the library in digital citizenship projects. By considering digital engagement, libraries too extend their vision and power, especially as they partner with like-minded organizations.It is important when looking at the different websites in the Civic Engagement section of the wiki to look for the About information. Often the organization will list agencies that support their work. Looking these over would give a teacher librarian or other school advisor of a digital citizenship project ideas of who in the community may be contacted for support with such a project. It is always good to check at the district office level or county office of education level to see if there is any funding or grant money availble to support with purchasing equipment. For instance, YO! or Youth Outlook is sponsored by the Pacific News Service and has 33 Foundations as well as individuals who donate funds to support their work. A librarian or advisor would need to network in the community to find support.

On our middle school campus we have an amazing weekly television program run by our yearbook students and their amazing teacher, Amy Cima. They started out covering school announcements but have expanded into including news, student art, student talent, reporting on school events, and many other interesting bits of information. It would be great to see our students start a literary e-magazine. We have some teachers that are published poets. My goal as their librarian would be to encourage them with Web 2.0 technology to put student writing out there. I plan to check with our history teachers to see if they participate in any civic engagment projects.

Digital Citizenship Module 2-What are Standards for Digital Citizenship?

2011-07-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

Task:
1. Link a set of content standards with the model school library standards in light of digital citizenship.
2. Brainstorm learning activities that could incoporate both sets of standards.
Discovery Exercises:
1. Choose one set of academic content standards, which are found on the For Teachers page. The standards have been highlighted to show digital citizenship concepts. Yellow highlights show direct connections to digital citizenship (close transfer of learning), and green highlights show indirect connections (more general transfer of learning). It’s a good idea to skim the highlights for all grades to get an idea of the developmental articulation.
I have selected the following standards from the English and Language Arts Standards, Grade 7 Writing Standards covering Research and Technology. Bolded purple text show direct connections to digital citizenship (close transfer of learning), and green bolded text show indirect connections (more general transfer of learning).
The Standards:

Research and Technology
1.4 Identify topics; ask and evaluate questions; and develop ideas leading to inquiry, investigation, and research.
1.5 Give credit for both quoted and paraphrased information in a bibliography by using a consistent and sanctioned format and methodology for citations.
1.6 Create documents by using word-processing skills and publishing programs; develop simple databases and spreadsheets to manage information and prepare reports.
I selected these standards because as a middle school teacher librarian I work regularly with the 7th-grade Language Arts teachers on research projects. I wanted to begin with something I could utilize right away and work with something with which I am familiar.

2. Next, examine the model school library standards, or focus on just the digital citizen list, both of which are found in the For Librarians page. You will notice that there are four major standards. See how the digital citizenship standards are distributed over the four categories. What intellectual picture does that paint?

Listed below is the organization of the Model School Library Standards:

1. Students Access Information

Students access information by applying their knowledge of the organization of libraries, print materials, digital media, and other sources.

1.3 Identify and locate a variety of resources using multiple search strategies.

1.4 Retrieve information in a timely, effective, and safe manner

2. Students Evaluate Information

Students evaluate and analyze information to determine appropriateness in addressing the scope of inquiry.

2.1 Determine relevance of information

2.2 Assess comprehensiveness, currency, credibility, authority, and accuracy of

resources

2.3 Consider the need for additional information

3. Students Use Information

Students organize, synthesize, create and communicate information.

3.1 Demonstrate the ethical, legal, and responsible use of information in print, media, and digital resources

3.2 Draw conclusions and make informed decisions

3.3 Use information and technology collaboratively and creatively to answer a

question, solve a problem, or enrich understanding

4. Students Integrate Information Literacy Skills into All Areas of Learning

Students independently pursue information to become life-long learners.

4.1 Read widely for information, personal interest, and life-long learning

4.2 Seek, produce, and share information

4.3 Appreciate and respond to creative expressions of information

4.4 Reflect upon and modify their personal learning process

The model library standards are organized similar to research models like the Big6 and those developed by Deborah Stanley and others. Students learn to form questions when seeking information, access information and evaluate the information that they access to determine if it is useable for their particular inquiry. Once the students have located and evaluated the information, then they use the information for their particular needs. Finally, students integrate what they have learned and continue to pursue information as a life-long learner. Studying the organization, you can see that higher level thinking skills are involved and the standards follow Bloom's Taxonomy. Students begin with knowledge and then learn to apply the skills as well as synthesize and evaluate the information as well as evaluate the process of locating and using the information. The incorporation of technology also allows students to be creative with the information they locate. Students also learn about ethical, legal and responsible use of the information they find and share.

3. Now take one grade for both sets of standards, and link them. This process forms the basis of developing learning activities that can foster digital citizenship while covering essential academic concepts.

I have begun this process by linking the 7th and 8th Grade Model Library Standard 1.2 with the 7th Grade English Language Arts Standard in Research and Technology 1.4. Both of these standards cover students beginning the research process by formulating research questions for their research topics. This is a basic step in beginning research, yet many students dive right into seeking information without having a research plan and a set of questions they hope to answer. To develop research questions students need to find a bit of background information on their topic and collect keywords. This can be done through information from their textbooks or encyclopedias. Once they have this information then they can begin to formulate research questions and a research plan to seek the information they need to support their research.

7th and 8th Grade Model Library Standards:

STANDARD 1
Students Access Information
The student will:
1.2 Formulate appropriate questions:
Create a plan of action for research including identifying key questions, definition of topic, keywords, and list of possible resources.

English Language Arts Standards

7th Grade Language Arts

Research and Technology
1.4 Identify topics; ask and evaluate questions; and develop ideas leading to inquiry, investigation, and research.

4. You might disagree with the highlights, which is fine. They represent a small group of people’s perspective. The main goal is for you to agree with your teaching partners as to the appropriate content to address.

I plan to work with my 7th-grade English and History teachers that bring their classes in for research projects to have students begin this process as an "into" for the assignment. Possibly before they even step into the library as a class, students can do some background searching independently as homework. The next day in class, they can use this information to formulate questions. My school uses Costa's Levels of Questioning. Students would formulate questions for their topics which they would bring to the library when they begin their research. Collaborating with the teacher and knowing the students' topics in advance, I would conduct minilessons on various topics that would help the students find information on their topics such as how to conduct a keyword search in our databases and how to use print materials to search for their keywords. A big part of this research for Digital Citizenship would be recording information about the owner of the information that they are using and how to cite it properly when the students use the information in their research. I am thinking of developing some Glogster posters on legal, ethical and responsible use of information. We also have HTV, a student television show, that airs once a week on campus. I have put book advertisements on HTV, why not some air time of student made commercials for legal, ethical and responsible use of information?

Another collaboration I'd like to do with my teachers, is develop research projects that move students away from cut-and-paste research. If we develop projects where students must compare and contrast, apply, synthesize and evaluate the information they locate, students will be unable to just cut-and-paste information they find on the Internet or in databases. They would not be able to copy information from print sources.

5. At this point, some ideas for lessons or learning activities may emerge. Be sure to jot them down, hopefully in your blog. You can also add comments to the standards, customizing them as a tool for designing instruction.

Through participation in Module #2, I have some ideas with which to begin.

I plan to meet with my Honors 7th Grade History teacher and collaborate the regular research visits. Working with her to help her student develop research questions and keywords.
I plan to share the Model School Library Standards for the middle school grade levels with my administration and curriculum leaders as well as post them on our website.
I plan to put links to the CSLA Classroom 2.0, Teen Learning, and Digital Citizenship.
I plan to look into developing a summer Teen Learning course.
I want to start a conversation with Curriculum Leaders at our school to see where these standards can be taught in collaboration during the year.
I will continue to work with the teachers who use the library to develop their awareness of digital citizenship and use these opportunities to instruct students.

Digital Citizenship Module 1-What is Digital Citizenship?

2011-07-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

I haven't seemed to be able to get back to Discovering Assistive Technology, but I will. I have used some of what I learned in the first two modules as resources professionally and personally. I've decided to switch to Digital Citizenship for some summer learning. Right now I feel it might be more applicable in our current library situation.

Our current library situation. Working with the worst-case scenario for the 2011-2012 school year, our district had planned to reassign half of the teacher librarians to the classroom or lay-off those that were within the range for "pink-slipping" which were the two positions of our newest librarians that had joined us this year. The district plan was to run our middle school and high school libraries with one librarian and no library technicians. (Library Technicians were laid off last year.) Luckily the budget outlook improved in our district somewhat, and all teacher librarians were brought back. I had the opportunity to represent teacher librarians on a subcommittee that covered everything from the downsizing and reassignment process to developing a 7-12 regional model that would be run by one librarian preforming job duties at two sites that were covered by four positions just a year and half ago. Luckily, we didn't get that far. We will still be meeting to figure out how one teacher librarian will do that tasks that a teacher librarian and library technician used to do. We applied a band-aid approach to our services this year but we need to work as a team to figure out a better approach to offering quality library services which include textbook distribution for the 2011-2012 school year. As I was sitting on this committee this summer, I realized that the librarians in our district (overwhelmed as we are working two positions) need to educate our teachers, parents, administration, district administration and School Board members about the important role we play in student learning. I believe that many people may have the same belief as California Representative Hunter Duncan that students don't need libraries because they have the Internet, but many of my colleagues and leaders of our district are not aware of the services we provide. I have not been included in discussions of our site technology plan, so I will need to make a request of my administrator to be included. I do not believe our district has a teacher librarian on the district level technology committee. We do have a library leadership committee which meets three times a year. The group has updated our district's library plan (which has yet to be approved) and is currently working on an evaluation tool for library media teachers as we are currently evaluated by the tool that is used to evaluate classroom teachers. If the predicted budget outlook for schools for 2012-2013 is bleaker than this year's, our teacher librarians will need to prove to be indispensable this year. I believe collaborating on Web 2.0 tools, digital citizenship, reaching beyond the library walls with technology, and educating everyone about what we do in the library will be a very important part of our jobs this year. So this summer I am dedicating myself to completing Digital Citizenship and working to implement it with other teacher librarians in my district who are willing to do so.

It's been quite awhile since I have participated in School Library Learning 2.0 and Discovering Assistive Technology but I have continued my library learning by participating in webinars. I am looking forward to getting back in the swing. Here I go.

Digital Citizenship Module 1

Task:

1. Check out one of the PowerPoint presentations to learn about digital citizenship.

2. Adapt it for use at your site.

I viewed Digital Citizenship Instruction PowerPoint, Digital Citizenship Teacher PowerPoint and Digital Citizenship for Librarians. I also viewed Staying Safe in Cyberspace. Staying Safe in Cyberspace had lots of practical information. I will incorporate this information into presentations for parents and for students. I can see developing several presentations for specific audiences using the information provided by Dr. Farmer. Teachers and school staff should be aware of the laws and Acceptable Use Policy. Last year was the first time we were asked to sign an AUP in our district. I'm not sure if we will be asked to sign one yearly. But all school staff needs to be aware of the implications of this document that they are signing. I think several of the slides in the teacher presentation regarding court cases where teachers were dismissed for inappropriate use of the Internet were very powerful. Also many of these court cases will help administration determine how to handle situations with students breaking rules with acceptable use. I also felt the information about educating students how to protect and use the Internet responsibly will take away some of the fear surrounding Internet use. I'd like to eventually see our district lessen filter restrictions for the Internet and allow our students and staff to use more Web 2.0 tools. I believe that the majority of students will behave responsibly on the Internet and those that don't will be disciplined under the Acceptable Use Policy when they are caught. I'd like to would with our Technology department to loosen the filter a bit. For instance, currently our web-based catalog cannot be viewed outside the school walls. We use Destiny and there are many features that students could use outside our walls but they do not have access. This last year we chose to reduce the hours our library was open to be able to keep up with some of the administrative tasks that are required of our job. Having the catalog available to students would have been beneficial as they would have been able to chose books from home and maximize the time they did have in the library.

I just signed up for a Prezi educators account. I'd like to develop a presentation of the PowerPoint information for various groups using Prezi. I've never tried Prezi yet and it has been a goal to learn. So why not, go for it and try two new things at once. I plan to develop one to show my staff that way I'll be demonstrating a new presentation tool and giving them important digital citizenship information at the same time. I'd plan to open the presentation with 24 Hours in the Life of a Digital Native from Teacher Tube because I feel it demonstrates how much our students use technology outside of school and how we don't embrace using it as a teaching tool during school hours. I also plan to use Social Media Revolution from YouTube.

Discovering Assistive Technology - Assistive Technology Hardware Solutions Module 2

2010-01-16T21:08:00.000-08:00

1. Browsing through various on-line sites that offer assistive technology was very enlightening. I believe many of the students at my school would benefit from many of the items. Touchscreen computers, enlarged keyboards or keyboard overlays, adapted mice would all support students on my campus. I found the YouTube clip of graphic designer, Leigh-Anne Tompkins, very eye-opening as to what can be accomplished through assistive technology. The DynaVox is also an amazing piece of assistive technology. I can't even imagine what a difference this technology is bringing to it's users. Not being able to communicate, must be extremely frustrating. People with Cerebral Palsy and Autism and stroke victims will benefit from the DynaVox.
2. We have several students on our campus who may benefit from having a touch screen computer station in the library or an adaptive keyboard. It may make our catalog more accessible to them. We only have one ADA catalog station. We have increased the font size on that particular computer but adding a touch screen would benefit many of our students. One of my co-workers would definitely benefit by changing from her regular mouse to a switch mouse as she suffers from carpal tunnel syndrome. We could also assist some of our students by switching a few of our computer work stations with enlarged keyboards, joysticks and adaptive mice.
3. I am not aware of how our school or district technology plan includes assitive technology. I plan to make some inquiries as I have never been included in the process of developing our school plan. I have read other comments posted on the calibk12 listserv regarding the inclusion of teacher librarians on both the school and district technology committees to lend a voice in the development of the technology plan. I have never seen our school's plan. It's time to see the plan and request to be included in the future development of the technology plan. Afterall, I oversee much of our school's technology and teach students how to use it as an effective research tool. From there I can work on developing a plan that includes the use of assistive technology, too.
4. I did not find one website particularly helpful over another. The websites gave me background knowledge of what is available to assist various needs of our physically challenged students and co-workers. My view might change when I find myself in need of actually purchasing the technology to equip my computer workstations for students. I definitely will call on these resources to assist any teachers that may need to outfit the computers in their classrooms to assist any of our students.
5. I never really paid attention to the types of assistive technology hardware that were available to support physically challenged students and co-workers. The two video clips demonstrated what can be accomplished when students have access to this technology. I do recall one of our students who has cerebral palsy received something similar to a DynaVox. The technology didn't give her a voice but she was able to type out what she wanted or was feeling. That was a big freedom for her. Now that I know about the websites, I'll be able to keep up on what is available for our students and share this information with others who might not be aware of what is available.

Discovering Assistive Technology - Types of Disabilities & Accommodations Module 1

2009-09-12T14:03:00.000-07:00

Activity 1
The National Federation of the Blind has many resources to help teachers assist their blind students as well as help them raise the awareness of their sighted students about blindness. I watched many of the instructional video clips that provided teaching tips on how to approach lessons using tactile images. I am now aware of the many resources that are available to assist blind students with science measurement such as talking thermometers and measuring tapes. I will definitely recommend this site to my science and math teachers in my weekly library communication bulletin. I plan to share what I learn in this course throughout the month of October.

I read about the Braille is Beautiful resources. I was fortunate when I was a classroom teacher to have the Visually Impaired Program teachers located on my campus. As an English teacher, when I taught the play, The Miracle Worker, I was able to invite the teachers in as guest speakers to give my students some background information on blindness. They taught my students how to guide a blind person, how to use a cane and about Braille. One teacher even made a name card for each student in Braille. It was a wonderful learning experience for my students. Since I do not have access to those resources on my current campus, I would definitely want to use the Braille is Beautiful resources to provide students with a similar experience. I'm sure that these would be great activities to raise student awareness during Disability Awareness Month.

Activity 2
I explored the Job Accomodation Network. What a valuable resource for teachers! Often times, when you have a student with special needs in your class, you get a brief statement as to their needs. On the Job Accomodation Network, you are able to look up many disabilities and find information about the disability and how to accommodate it. The network also has links to other websites where more information can be found. Work place rights are also found on this website, so both the employer and employee know their rights when it comes to providing accommodations to help the employee perform his/her job.

The National Center for Learning Disabilities was a very informative website. I spent some time exploring the section, "Especially for Teachers" specifically in the area of effective teaching practices. I found information on research supporting certain types of teaching methods which are successful in helping students with learning disabilities. I plan to share both of these sites with the teachers at my school site. I am curious to know if my special education teachers know of the National Center for Learning Disabilities.

Week 9 Thing 23 My Thoughts

2007-07-17T14:00:00.000-07:00

Wow! When I started School Library Learning 2.0 I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew time was going to be a challenge as I was finishing up CLAD courses, too. Once I finished the CLAD courses, I was able to devote more time to learning Library 2.0. I quite enjoyed learning all the "Things." So here are my responses to the prompts:

What were your favorite discoveries or exercises on this learning journey? My favorite discoveries were Library Thing and fd's Flickr Toys. I love being able to keep my book list on Library Thing and having the random books displayed on my blog. It adds so much color to the page. As for fd's Flickr Toys, I know it is something I can use to promote my library to my patrons.
How has this program assisted or affected your lifelong learning goals? This program assisted me in learning about new available free technologies that I can use as a librarian or use personally. With some of these I feel I have just scratched the surface and will come back to learn more. Awhile back I started a book review blog for my students and staff on edublogs. I would post a book after I read it. It is a very simple blog. After using Blogger, I will probably spend some time this month switching Book Trail over to Blogger because Blogger offers some more features and is pretty easy to use know that I have been blogging regularly. I stated in an earlier posting that I used dabble in photography and now have a desire to learn more in depth about digital photography. This sparked a conversation with a colleague of mine who is a photographer. He mentioned that the local community college offers evening courses in digital photography should I want to learn more. So I am going to look into a spring course to see if it will fit into my schedule. Participating in this course also gave me the courage to try something I have been putting off. This month I hired a personal trainer and "re-joined" my gym after ten years of minimal physical activity. I have committed to spending several hours a week to some fitness training and I am going to attempt to learn yoga. While fitness training, I may even learn some Spanish from the available free podcasts I found. I've always been pretty good at working on my professional side but this class has also given me the desire to apply some lifelong learning to my personal life.
Were there any take-a-ways or unexpected outcomes from this program that surprised you? Library Thing was definitely a pleasant surprise. I found many take-a-ways. Free podcasts and eBooks were a great discovery. Zoho, fd's Flickr Toys, You Tube, Teacher Tube, and Rollyo are "things" that I will definitely share with others and use again throughout the year.
What could we do differently to improve upon this program's format or concept? I liked the self-paced learning aspect of the program and I felt the amount of what we had to learn for the summer was doable and allowed for flexibility. For some reason I completely missed the place where you could e-mail someone on the team if you needed tech support within the program. (Reading carefully over the About page, I see that offer listed under #9). In my eagerness to get started, I missed this. My only suggestions would be to put some troubleshooting steps linked to each activity (similar to the Weekly Tips) on the page with the activity and to locate the Weekly Tips in two places. One where the tips are currently located and on the activity page itself so learners can put the tip into action as they work on the activity.
If we offered another discovery program like this in the future, would you choose to participate? I would participate in future. I liked the flexibility of the program and the self-pacing. I appreciated that the technology was free.
How would you describe your learning experience in ONE WORD or in ONE SENTENCE, so we could use your words to promote CSLA learning activities? I wasn't aware that there was so many free technology applications readily available that I could use to support my library, staff and students.

Week 9 Thing 22 eBooks & Audio eBooks

2007-07-15T11:38:00.000-07:00

I spent some time looking around the World eBook Fair site. Mostly classics are offered for free download. I downloaded Bambi and started reading it on the screen. I really don't like the format of scrolling and reading a scanned book. There's something about a book in your hand when you are reading for enjoyment. I don't mind reading for research and information on the computer but when I am reading for enjoyment, I want the book. I haven't really experienced audio books too much but now that I have an i-Pod I'll give audio books a try. I do think this is a great way to preserve some of our classics that are out-of-print, so they can still be read and shared with new generations.

Week 9 Thing 21 Podcasts

2007-07-15T10:31:00.000-07:00

I did some searching in two places. I do use iTunes so I did some searches for podcasts in iTunes and found lots of interesting useable podcasts and I did subscribe to a few. Grammar Girl's Quick & Dirty Tips for Better Writing and Coffee Break Spanish, I felt, were podcasts I could personally use for my own lifelong learning. The Princeton Review Vocabulary Minute looked great for students.

After searching on iTunes, I did a search on the link provided for Educational podcasts and found a very creative school that is using podcasts and other technology. Mabry Middle School in Georgia has a podcast central that features podcasts for parents and podcasts by students, teachers and the principal. It's a great example of how a school can effectively use podcasts.

Week 9 Thing 20 You Tube

2007-07-14T23:26:00.000-07:00

You Tube offers some very creative video clips but you have to search through a lot of other "stuff" to find the gems. I found it fairly easy to embed a video, you just have to join You Tube and that's free. Once you find a video you want to place on your blog, choose post video and You Tube uploads the video to your blog. If you want to attach any comments, you'll need to type that in the space provided before you upload the video. Teacher Tube, for the purposes of finding something designed for education or by educators, offers a little more. I didn't have to search as long to find inspirational clips. I can see how You Tube will be useful for library web pages or blogs. You just have to spend some time searching to find something that will work. Reading other librarian's blogs or participating in a library social network where others share a good find would definitely be helpful and useful when it comes to You Tube.

Women In Art

2007-07-14T23:19:00.001-07:00

My mom shared this video with me a while back. I searched for it on You Tube and was able to find it. I wanted to share this video clip because I feel if you enjoy art or art history, you'll be amazed by this. Also I think art teachers would enjoy showing this to their classes. Challenge yourself, how many paintings or artists can you name?

Week 8 Thing 19 Library Thing

2007-07-14T19:28:00.000-07:00

I had already explored Library Thing during Week 5. I spent a couple of hours later adding books to my book list and checking to see if they were favorites of others. I love the suggestion tab. I was able to find other books I had forgotten I had read and I was able to get some great suggestions for further reading. I plan to use this with some of my 7th grade Language Arts classes whose teachers have built a reading culture in their classrooms. These classes visit the library regularly for book talks and the students "talk" to each other about great reads on School Loop, our intergrated communication system. I think many of these students and their teachers would enjoy keeping track of what they read on Library Thing. It was interesting to see that some of the books I had read have been read by thousands of people and then I have some that only 2 others have read. I love Library Thing. It is something I will continue to use and definitely share with others.

I have another question. How do I respond to someone who has left a comment on my blog or asked a question of me?

Week 8 Thing 18 Zoho

2007-07-12T19:15:00.000-07:00

I explored Zoho this evening. I do like the idea that you can create a document and share it. I like the idea of being able to retrieve a document from any computer and not having to worry about its formatting. I tried notebook, wiki, show, writer and sheet. All were very easy to use. I plan to play around with these some more. I will definitely tell my students about these. They will be happy to not have to buy disks or remember their flash drive.

Week 7 Thing 17 Wikis

2007-07-12T18:16:00.000-07:00

I played in the sandbox today and uncovered lots of great ideas for how to use the "things" we've learned in different curricular areas. One idea shared was to make trading cards for the staff by having students interview them. As a former 8th grade history teacher, trading cards on Civil War Generals or battles would enhance the regular study. In 7th grade history, you could do inventions from ancient China or figures from the Renaissance.

I haven't started the lessons on podcasts yet but I think having students do podcasts of book talks would be something I'd like to try. I'd like to work with the staff about recording their lectures and then podcasting them for students who missed the lecture or may need to hear it several times to learn it. I'd also like to use Flickr to make read posters of our staff and different athletic teams. I saw the idea at the CSLA conference using the athletic teams and their favorite books and I thought it was a great idea. So I plan to try it too.

I plan to share with my staff the ideas used on sample school wiki about how a class scribe takes notes and then posts them on the scribe page, students blog their opinions and reactions, and teachers create wikis for projects, discussion and other student interaction around classroom topics.

Week 7 Thing 16 Wikis

2007-07-10T18:50:00.000-07:00

My favorite example was the sample school wiki it had a lot going on but it clearly demonstrated many ways students could use wikis. I liked how they have blogs for personal opinions, scribes for posting class notes, and wikis for sharing facts and for discussions. I still need to read up more on how they work on the sites provided to become clear on uses. I noticed that on some wikis you had to have a log-in and that seems smart on a classroom wiki. What are the aspects of safety on the Internet that librarians and teachers instruct their students before starting activities like these? Being new to this, would someone please share this side of using wikis, blogs, and podcasts with students. I noticed that student's first names were only used. The name and city of the school or library is usually given. I want to be prepared on how to answer questions that come from parents and my administrators as to how I am keeping students safe. I know that is a concern in my community.

As far as uses, I can think of many...book reviews, book talks, contests for our special activities, sharing poetry, sharing short stories, favorite lists, student blogs, posting notes, posting links to helpful websites, videocasts of tutorials on how to use school technology, student projects, sharing examples of quality student projects, and posting rubrics for projects.

Week 6 Thing 15 Library 2.0

2007-07-09T18:42:00.000-07:00

I read all of the articles posted and wanting to know more, I read some of the articles that were posted under references on the wikipedia article, "Library 2.0" I realize we are coming to another shift in how we conceptualize teaching, learning, classrooms and libraries. Since I am a new school librarian I haven't been around long enough to experience some of the other shifts in how libraries have been used. But I have experienced changes in technology and though the learning curve has been rough at times I have learned how to use new technology. As a life-long learner, I will continue to adapt and learn to use new technology. After reading the articles it seems pretty clear that the profession will be adapting also to a new focus and a new ways of offering our service to our library patrons. The challenge for me will be to stay up with all the new technology and making sure our patrons know what is available to them (Hey, I can use some of this new technology to keep my teachers and students up-to-date on what's available!)

Library 2.0 to me means extending the library beyond its walls. If you think back to B.G.(before Google) and computers, most people had to visit a library to research answers to their questions. Now with the Internet, search engines, on-line databases, on-line catalogs library patrons can access information from beyond the library walls. As a school librarian, I am shifting my perspective on how to help prepare students that use my library for the future. Whether I teach them skills as a class, one-on-one or direct them to video clips posted on the web to assist them in learning a skill, I need to continually assess and learn as new technology becomes available so I can offer my patrons the best service possible.

I am learning so much during this Library 2.0 course. I see great potential for what I have learned. I found a video on Teacher Tube that I think fits this lesson. I found Teacher Tube after browsing through other members blogs. One blog I learned a lot from is kangaLMT2. She had some favorite blogs that she regularly checked and I found many of them suited my taste too. So as I was searching around Teacher Tube, I found Shift Happens
which I suggest you watch when you have the opportunity because it fits this topic. But I am posting Shake It Up by Tom Woodward because I think it shows where we've been and where we are headed. (I wasn't able to embed the video on the page, so you'll have to use the link. Just when I think I've improved my technology learning curve...)

Week 6 Thing 14 Technorati

2007-07-07T11:59:00.000-07:00

I just finished exploring in Technorati. It is amazing to discover how many blogs are out there in the blogosphere. Technorati is a fantastic tool to help you search for blogs you would be interested in reading regularly. I signed up on Technorati and claim my learning blog. I searched under the tag of libraries and young adult fiction to find blogs I may be interested in reading regularly. I added those as favorites and added tags to them.

I have learned how tagging in Flickr, Technorati and del.icio.us helps save time for those who regularly use web 2.0. I also like that once you find a blog you like to read, you can find out what that blogger likes to read in Technorati and possibly find other blogs to read. It's similar to a book recommendation from a friend with similar tastes.

Week 6 Thing 13 del.icio.us

2007-07-07T09:07:00.000-07:00

This morning I worked on the del.icio.us thing. It took me awhile to catch on but I eventually set up an account and tagged all my favorites. I can see how this is a most useful tool. I am going to tag all my bookmarks in del.icio.us as I add them. This will definitely be a web tool that I will share with others at my site and some of my family members.

Week 5 Thing 12 Rollyo

2007-07-06T10:54:00.000-07:00

I created a search roll for a research unit on Anne Frank and the Holocaust that my 8th grade Language Arts teachers do with their students. I can see how creating a search roll for classes that are researching a specific topic in the library would optimize research time for the students if the teacher or LMT research websites in advance and created a search roll for the topic that included valuable websites.

I tried unsuccessfully to add the Rollyo icon to my blog like I have seen on other blogs. I did manage to add the search bar but decided I didn't want that on my blog at this time. I will probably add it to our library web page in the future.

I did take the advice of comments left on my blog, and added links. I will continue to add links know that I've figured out how to add links. I'd like to respond to some of the comments left on my blog but I am unsure of how to accomplish that task.

Week 5 Thing 11 Ning & Library Thing

2007-07-05T10:14:00.000-07:00

LibraryThing is amazing. I set up a free account, made a book list and perused around the site. I added some book covers to my blog. I am starting to see how you could spend hours at the computer utilizing all this new technology. I plan to introduce LibraryThing to my students and teachers who are avid readers because it is a wonderful tool to help you find books to read, keep track of what you've read, share what you are reading and discuss what you are reading with others. I'm also going to share it with some of my family members who love to read. I took some time to check out Ning. I plan to research it a little more before I join a group. I didn't really find a group that interested me. I'd rather join the on-line book club on LibraryThing. I do want to go back and spend some more time on the Web 2.0 winners site to see what else is out there. I was like a little kid at Christmas, once I opened LibraryThing I only wanted to play with that.

Week 5 Thing 10 Image Chef

2007-07-03T21:19:00.000-07:00

I played around in Image Chef and created this 8 ball design that I could use to advertise new books on my blog for students. Image Chef was very easy to use. I've also been checking out other Library 2.0 blogs. Everyone is so creative. I'm getting lots of ideas of how to apply what I'm learning to our library. I have a couple of planning days coming up to use how I'd like. I'm going to plan my first Family Reading Night for our middle school and I think I'm going to plan some specific teacher workshops where I can demonstrate some of these ideas to interested staff members. I'd appreciate any ideas for a Family Reading Night for the middle school level if anyone out there has experience with such an event.

Week 4 Thing 9 Feedster & Technorati

2007-07-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

I'm back from searching and searching. I used Feedster and Technorati to locate some book review sites for young adult fiction. It took awhile to weed through lots of other unrelated blogs to find a few. After I have a chance to see if they are worthwhile sites, I'll share them. I added these to my Google Reader account so I'll be up-dated for new postings. I still want to put in some more time searching for local and national newsfeeds as well as RSS feeds that would assist students and teachers in finding current information on topics studied in class. I definitely need to put in some more time exploring in this area.

Week 4 Thing 8 Google Reader

2007-06-26T22:47:00.000-07:00

This evening I opened a Google Reader Account and browsed around looking for some YA blogs and news feeds that I could add to it. After spending the initial time investment of finding blogs and news feeds that one is intereted in, I like how this is a time-saving feature. When there's a update on those sites to which I subscribe, I will find it on my Google Reader page. I can see how this will be a very useful application in the library and around campus. Students can set up accounts so they get news feeds for current events or if they are trying to locate specific information for projects. I like that I can subscribe to other YA book blogs and know when a new posting comes out. Adding these feeds to teacher web pages or to our library page is another possibility.

Week 3 Thing 7 Flickr

2007-06-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

I do enjoy technology! Digital cameras are very easy to use. I own a simple one but after playing around in Flickr and looking at the amazing photographs, I'd like to get a better camera. I'd love to take a class in digital photography. One of the things I like to do when I have spare time is to scrapbook. I'd love to try digital scrapbooking. I had great fun playing around with some of the programs available in Flickr. I would enjoy learning how to manipulate my digital photographs with special effects. I am also a great fan of the Ipod. I've taken a short course in Podcasting and I can see all kinds of uses for that technology. I found a few teachers that actually record their lectures with a digital recorder and then post it on their web pages. I would have loved to have had access to this type of technology when I was a student. I was a slow notetaker and missed many points of lectures. Students who are not strong auditory learners would benefit from this type of technology, as would English Learners, student with particular learning disabilities, atheletes who miss class due to their competition schedules, etc. What a powerful learning tool!

Week 3 Thing 6 Flickr

2007-06-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

I played around in Flickr some more today. I made a magazine cover and my own Read poster. I checked out the library trading cards. I definitely plan to make one in the future. I saw lots of applications that would be great to use with students. Here's a sample of my poster.

Week 3 Thing 5 Flickr

2007-06-18T15:07:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of my daughter's fun summer reading. I took the photograph and uploaded it to Flickr. This week I explored Flickr and was truly amazed at this resource and all the creative people that have a place to share their photographs. I signed up for an account. It was easy! I practiced uploading and tagging pictures. Flickr has inspired me to get back to my photography. It was something I used to do a long time ago but I haven't made the time for it lately. I really want to get back to it. My daughter is planning to take a digital photography class in the fall. Perhaps it will be an activity we can do together.

Again I had a problem uploading the picture from Flickr to my blog. I kept getting two pictures. I deleted one and then tried to post the blog but received a message about a split tag. So I ended up uploading the picture from my computer. This same thing happened when I was uploading my Avatar in html. I'm not quite sure what is happening.

Week 2 Thing 3 & Thing 4 Blog & Avatar

2007-06-07T21:16:00.001-07:00

I have been trying to post an Avatar. I had some challenges but I finally figured out how to do it after about a half hour. I had great fun creating Avatars. I created about 4 to fit different moods and occasions. My teenage daughters gave me lots of suggestions. The one I selected to post today represents finishing my third year in the library. This summer I am hoping to relax, rejuvenate, complete my CLAD courses, learn great things from Library 2.0, travel and READ!!!

I figured out how to register my blog with Library2.O. That went much more quickly than the posting of my Avatar. Even though this can be a bit frustrating at times, because of my learning curve, I am enjoying what I am learning.

I do have some questions that you more experienced people may be able to answer. I ended up pasting my Avatar right on to the page. Is there a better way? I tried using the "add image" icon. My Avatar would paste in duplicate. I tried deleting one and then published the entry but I would receive an error message. Any tips?

Week 1 Thing 1 & Thing 2 Life-Long Learning

2007-06-01T20:49:00.000-07:00

Thing #1
Now I begin the adventure of CSLA Library 2.0. I've set up my Happy Trails blog in the middle of textbook returns no less. I feel like I've been herding cattle for days on end, so it feels right to take on a more creative challenge in the midst of organized chaos.

I am excited about learning all the technology listed in 23 Things. I am apprehensive about completing everything by the due date as I am also working on CLAD classes this summer.

I've already enjoyed reading many of the other blogs. I felt inspired, so much so that I have avoided doing my CLAD work to read blogs.

Thing #2
After watching the Lifelong Learners slideshow, I pondered what would be my greatest obstacle. I believe time will be my biggest challenge but I have developed a plan to succeed. I will spend time on CLAD and time on Library 2.0 each week. If I have a set schedule, I should procrastinate less.

The positive outcomes from this will be learning the new technology and then being able to share it with my colleagues as well as thinking of creative ways to use it with the students and classes that visit my library.